Keyword: Kentucky Derby

When horses from the Todd Pletcher barn go to the track at Churchill Downs for morning workouts, one exercise rider attracts more attention than the others. Observers know his face but often ask themselves, "Is that Angel?" The answer is yes, Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. is exercising horses for Pletcher,

Most Kentucky Derby (gr. I) works are pretty uneventful, but that certainly wasn't the case Thursday morning. You had Bobby Frankel calling a last-minute audible and working High Limit in company with Ghostzapper, and you had Greater Good and Greeley's Galaxy turn in two of the strangest Derby works in memory.

It's that time of the week when things briefly quiet down before the second wave of workouts. With only Consolidator working under the cover of darkness, this is a good time to reflect on how the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) is shaping up so far.

After a one-year hiatus from the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey is back, seeking his third win in the classic. Bailey, 47, who also just released his autobiography "Against the Odds: Riding for My Life," is booked to ride Florida Derby (gr. I) winner High Fly for trainer Nick Zito.

Tuesday's activity can be pretty much summed up in two words: Afleet Alex -- with the emphasis on Afleet. Working over a loose track that was playing on the slow side, Alex blazed his five furlongs in :59, with several others getting him in :58 3/5.

Arkansas Derby (gr. II) winner Afleet Alex displayed his affinity for the track at Churchill Downs when he zipped five furlongs in :59 Tuesday morning in preparation for the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I).

As a budding athlete in grade school, Tim Ritchey recalls, he did "two-a-day" drills as a member of the football team. Now, Ritchey is applying those lessons learned at a young age, along with lessons learned as a trainer of show horses and a healthy dose of what he calls "common sense," in his training of Afleet Alex, one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I).

With only a few differences, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. will be utilizing the same testing procedures for "milkshakes" that are in effect at Keeneland Racecourse and similar to those at many other North American tracks during the spring meet that begins April 30.

As a road trip to Louisville, Ky. for the Kentucky Derby rekindles memories of Smarty Jones' 2004 journey, there are also omens pointing to Afleet Alex as another Triple Crown Trail success story out of Philadelphia Park.

Rockport Harbor, who finished sixth in Saturday's Lexington Stakes (gr. II) as the 3-5 favorite, emerged from the race in "great physical condition" but will no longer be pointed toward the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) or other two legs of the Triple Crown, according to owner Rick Porter.

Ogden Mills Phipps' Gotham (gr. III) winner Survivalist breezed five furlongs in :59 3/5 at Belmont Park Monday morning, but trainer Shug McGaughey said he has decided not to run the colt in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and will point instead to the Withers Stakes (gr. II).

The Nick Zito-trained pair of High Fly and Noble Causeway, the one-two finishers in the Florida Derby (gr. I), breezed five furlongs at Churchill Downs Friday, although Zito said both colts actually worked six furlongs after breaking off between poles. Also on the work tab Friday was Illinois Derby (gr. II) winner Greeley's Galaxy.

A field of eight 3-year-olds will go to the post Saturday in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (gr. II), the last chance to pick up significant graded earnings before the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). The standout in the field, 6-5 morning-line favorite Rockport Harbor, doesn't need the earnings, but definitely needs the race to make it to Churchill Downs for the first Saturday in May.

Kinsman Stable's Bellamy Road, the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:02 4/5 at Churchill Downs Thursday morning. It was the colt's first work since his 17 1/2-length romp in the Wood Memorial (gr. I) April 9.

Ogden Mills Phipps' Survivalist, winner of the Gotham (gr. III) and runner-up in the Wood Memorial (gr. I), breezed a half-mile in :51 3/5 at Belmont Park Wednesday, after which trainer Shug McGaughey said the colt wasn't likely to run in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I).

<i>By Ray Paulick</i> - The road to the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) changes from time to time, and so do the roadmaps printed by the racetracks and used by owners and trainers to get their horses to Churchill Downs in optimum condition on the first Saturday in May.

<i>By Dan Liebman</i> - On May 7 in Louisville, Ky., when the most famous race in the land is run at the most famous track in the land, the race will look the same as it did a year ago. The Kentucky Derby (gr. I) is still for 3-year-olds, still at a mile and a quarter, still the first Saturday in May, and the winner still gets a garland of roses.

Trainer Nick Zito said Robert V. LaPenta's Andromeda's Hero, third in the Arkansas Derby (gr. II), will stay away from the Kentucky Derby excitement (gr. I) at Churchill Downs until just before the race.

Blues and Royals, whose impressive victory in the UAE Derby (gr. II) at Nad al Sheba bought him a ticket to Lousville, will miss the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I), according to the Godolphin Racing Web site.

B. Wayne Hughes could easily wind up on the outside looking in with Greeley's Galaxy for the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) in spite of the colt's $300,000 in graded earnings from his Illinois Derby (gr. II) win April 9.

It is a long way in distance from Dubai to Churchill Downs. And it is a long way in time since a horse from the line of Man o' War took the Derby roses, the last being War Admiral in 1937. But if a fleet bay colt named Blues and Royals has his way, both long journeys will end in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners' circle on May 7.

<i>By John Angelo</i> - My wife, Lorrie, and I have danced the same dance every spring for the decade we've been together. She discovers me late one night with the VCR remote in hand watching "The Life and Times of Secretariat" or "Jewels of the Triple Crown."

ReRun announces the 2005 Equine Art Classic Gallery Show and ReRun Benefit Art Auction to be held at The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Louisville, Ky., May 5 -May 8. The auction will open at 10 a.m. May 5.

Fog City Stable's Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Buzzards Bay will return to the track on Tuesday morning, trainer Jeff Mullins said, where he will begin preparations for a likely next start in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I).

With less than four weeks until the May 7 Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Godolphin Racing's Blues and Royals, winner of the UAE Derby (UAE-II) on the Dubai World Cup card, is still on top of the list of Derby contenders by graded stakes earnings.

On the strength of his 17 1/2-length victory in Saturday's Wood Memorial (gr. I) at Aqueduct, Kinsman Stable's Bellamy Road emerged from a record-smashing third and final pool of Churchill Downs' 2005 Kentucky Derby Future Wager as a strong 3-1 favorite to win the famed "Run for the Roses" on May 7.